Some computer systems are designed to offer a significant amount of flexibility in how they are implemented and used. This applies, for example, in the area of enterprise computing systems, including those available from SAP AG in Walldorf (Baden), Germany. Such systems are sometimes built so that they can operate in many different situations depending on the particular customer's needs. The operation of the system is dictated in large part by configuration settings that the individual customer organization applies to the system by. For example, in a warehouse management system there may be alternatives for how stock is delivered to storage locations, in a production management system there may be alternatives for how machines are used, and so on. One advantage for larger-sized customers is that the same type of system can be implemented in different areas of the customer's operations. Another is that if the customer's needs change over time, the system's flexibility can allow it to adapt to the new circumstances.
System configuration is sometimes done by consultants that are experts in the particular system and knowledgeable about the many configuration settings that should be made to get the system operational. Such a custom fitting of the system to the owner's needs can be costly and can take some time before the system begins operating. For example, the consultant may need to access several different transactions in a configuration tool and there specify the complex configuration data that, based on the intended use, applies to each aspect of the system. Another approach is to present an often quite extensive questionnaire to the user, wherein the user's answers are used in configuring the system.